The Jonah
by LouBlue
Summary: A prequel to my story 'Echoes'. Just a short two-parter featuring how Axel is fitting in with the group... or not.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N****: Howdy all, did ya miss me? LOL Unless you're reading one of my stories for the first time, of course, then it's pretty unlikely you've missed anything. ;) **

**So, as promised another little TWD story. This is definitely going to be a two-parter, end of. Not like the last two-parter I started which ended up being 50 chapters long. . **

**This story is only going to be a bit of fluff and silliness... something quite hard to introduce into TWD universe what with all the zombies and desolation of the human race and all. But, I've given it a crack. It's actually serving as a prequel to my other TWD fic "Echoes". If you haven't read "Echoes" and are tempted to check it out after reading this, then that's wonderful. Just a heads up though, that story isn't all fluff and nonsense like this story is, just so you know what you're getting yourself into, okay? ;) **

**I've just come from watching 'The Lone Ranger' – which I loved and have no idea why the critics are being so harsh about, but whatever – and who should be in that movie but Axel! He played a Ranger at the beginning... spoiler alert – don't get too attached to him, he's not around all that long but I did enjoy very much seeing him and he has a great line about eating a foot which I loved. LOL So, I figured seeing him was a sign that I should get posting this fic I promised while writing 'Echoes'. **

**I think that's all I wanted to say, except for thanks for taking the time to check this story out... and read through this ambling preamble, if you've made it this far. **

**So, on with the show, I guess, and I'll see you soon for the last part of this story...**

**THE JONAH**

"A long-established expression among sailors uses the term "a Jonah" as meaning a person (either a sailor or a passenger) whose presence on board brings bad luck and endangers the ship. Later on, this meaning was extended to "a Jonah" referring to "a person who carries a jinx, one who will bring bad luck to any enterprise.""

**Chapter ONE**

"But bad luck makes good stories."  
~Bernard Evslin~

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Carol's quiet words of warning were said around a mouthful of pegs. She took one out of her mouth and used it to stretch out a shirt of Rick's on the line.

Axel looked over from where he'd been circling around Daryl's crossbow. Daryl had left his weapon of choice out in the courtyard. The Dixon boy had gone back inside to collect some things he was taking out with him on his hunting trip that day. When Axel had wandered out into the courtyard, looking for someone to have a chat with, he'd spied it immediately.

"I used to do some huntin' myself, back in the day," noted Axel. "Before I was sent to prison." He sent Carol a knowing look. "They don't let you hunt when you're in prison."

"You don't say?" said a straight-faced Carol.

"Yeah," sighed Axel, seeming to miss her slight sarcasm, "it's a real shame. Me and my brother used to go off into the woods for days." He grinned. "Turkey huntin' was my favourite, until I had to give it away."

"Because you went to prison?"

Axel was back to circling the cross bow again. "Nah, I got shot."

Carol's brow creased. "By another hunter?"

"By a turkey."

Carol opened her mouth and the closed it again, knowing she shouldn't ask but then she couldn't help herself. "A turkey?"

"I'd shot one with my bow and arrow and stuck it in the trunk of our car when I was huntin' with my brother. We got stopped by the local ranger cause it weren't exactly huntin' season and he wanted to look in our trunk."

Despite herself, Carol was caught up in his story. "And?"

"And it turns out the turkey weren't quite dead yet," admitted Axel unhappily. "I went to open the trunk up and the thing kinda twitched and it's foot must have got caught in the trigger of my brother's shotgun-"

"Which was loaded?" Carol interrupted him.

"My brother, he ain't too bright," conceded Axel. "I was always the smart one in the family."

"Oh god," said Carol in disbelief and then realised she was being rude. "I mean, oh god, this story is fascinating, go on."

"Well, the bird kinda did this death throes thing and got caught up in the shotgun and the next thing I know, I've been shot in the leg through the trunk of the car." Axel looked accepting of his fate. "I spent three days in the hospital and after that, I weren't so keen on huntin' no more." He wrinkled his nose. "Even gone off eatin' turkey. Brings back bad memories. I keep hearin' turkeys laughin' at me."

Carol didn't know what to say to any of that. She wasn't aware turkeys could laugh, but Carol suspected if they could, then Axel would be a good source of amusement for them. He certainly was for her. "Um, well... that's too bad, Axel," said Carol, lips twitching from trying to control her laughter.

The former prisoner picked up Daryl's crossbow and tested the weight. "This sure is a beaut."

"I really would leave that thing alone, Axel," Carol cautioned him, reaching for more clothes to hang. She now had a bundle of them against her stomach."You know how Daryl is about his crossbow."

Axel didn't seem to be inclined to listen to her warnings though as he lifted it up as though he was about to fire, checking the sights. "He won't mind me havin' a little look see," said Axel confidently.

Carol was just as confident Daryl would mind a whole heap. She went to argue the point with Axel but then Daryl appeared in the courtyard entrance and the argument was rendered moot. Daryl's face clouded over angrily when he saw Axel with his crossbow. For his part, Axel had gotten a fright from the other man's unexpected reappearance and quickly jerked the crossbow away from where he'd been now unintentionally pointing it at Daryl. Unfortunately, his sudden movement caused Axel to pull on the trigger mechanism and a bolt was sent hurtling across the courtyard with deadly force.

Carol froze to the spot as the arrow whistled right by her side, embedding itself in the wall behind her. She'd felt the impact as it tore through the clothes in her arms but couldn't tell if it had hit her on the way through. It had all happened too fast and she was still in shock.

Daryl's reflexes were quicker. "Shit!" he exclaimed in horror, racing over to the stock still Carol. He tore the clothes out of her numb arms to better see if the arrow had passed through her or not. Daryl's hands were sweeping Carol's stomach and hips, frantically looking for blood. "Did he hit you?" he asked urgently, pulling up the bottom of her shirt and checking her skin for any wounds. "Are you hurt?!"

"N-no," said Carol shakily, still a little stunned.

Daryl ran his finger across a pink scratch which ran along Carol's lower stomach, signifying just how close the call had been.

Carol felt a little unsteady from the rush of adrenaline her body had just released. She looked around for something to focus on and took in the shirt pinned to the wall by the accidental arrow. "That's Glenn's favourite shirt," she said unevenly. "I'll have to fix the hole now."

"No one gives a shit about the shirt," said Daryl angrily. He straightened up and marched up to a frightened looking Axel. "You nearly killed her, you dumbass!" he yelled at the hapless man.

Axel took a few quick steps backwards. "It was an accident," he protested.

Daryl grabbed for the crossbow. "Give me that!" Daryl snapped. Unfortunately Axel was too cooperative and shoved the weapon at the unprepared Daryl. The result was the crossbow being smashed into Daryl's mouth, splitting his lip. Blood gushed out of the new wound as Axel stood transfixed to the spot, eyes wide in horror. Daryl spat out blood. "Son of a bitch!" he growled.

"Daryl," gasped Carol, "are you alright? Let me see."

Daryl wasn't interested in any nurse maiding right then however, as his blue eyes spark certain death at the slowly backing up Axel.

Axel held up a placating hand. "Now then, that was an accident, Daryl. I didn't mean no harm. You said you wanted the crossbow and I just did like you asked."

Daryl didn't speak, just advanced on him like a lion about to tear apart a bunny rabbit. Carol sensed this was seconds from getting out of control. "Daryl, just calm down. You know none of this was intentional."

Axel's head bobbed up and down. "That's right," he said hastily, "I didn't mean to bust your lip or shoot at Carol. It was an accident. You can't blame a man for an accident, can you?"

Daryl was still advancing on Axel as the other man continued to back up. An axe was stuck in a nearby block of wood and Daryl grabbed it up without looking. He continued to close in on the fearful Axel. His eyes narrowed menacingly. "Funny, I feel an accident of my own comin' on."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Daryl," she said in exasperation, "leave Axel be."

"Yeah," said Axel quickly as he managed to scamper over to Carol's side and put her between him and Daryl. "I don't want no trouble now." He stepped out from behind Carol and stuck up his hands in the air. "See, I surrender." Unfortunately, as Axel threw his hands up in the air, he managed to smack Carol in the face in the process, as she was standing behind him.

Carol gave a little yelp of pain and that was it for Daryl. He charged at the hapless Axel and Axel did the first sensible thing he'd done all day.

Axel ran.

**oooOOOOooo**

Rick looked up at the glaring sun above them and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Even sitting in the shade, eating a sandwich, he was sweating like a pig. That was a Georgian summer for you. Rick wasn't looking forward to getting back to fixing the prison fences but it was a job which had to be done. He took another bite of his sandwich and went back to reading his book.

"Do you think Hell would be hotter than this?" asked Glenn casually, as he sat beside Rick in the shade, sweating almost as much as Rick. "Cause I can't really imagine that."

Rick gave a distracted grunt. There was only so much talking about the weather he could do. It was all anyone could talk about lately and this heat wave wasn't putting anyone in a good mood. In the end it was the things you took for granted you missed the most, simple things like air conditioning. What Rick wouldn't do for a good night's sleep in a cool room.

Glenn's didn't seem to need more than that by way of conversation and the two sat in a comfortable, if somewhat sticky, silence for a few more moments before the other man spoke again. "So," Glenn drawled, "should we be worrying about that?"

Rick looked up from where he was reading and glanced at Glenn and then over to where the other man was looking. Daryl, axe in hand, was currently chasing a scared Axel across the open field. "I don't reckon so," said Rick casually. "They'll work it out."

Axel was now screaming something about it not being his fault and it was an accident as he ran for what looked like his life from the gaining Daryl. Glenn's brow wrinkled. "You think?"

"Daryl is just blowing off some steam," said Rick confidently, going back to his book. "This damn heat ain't helpin' people's attitude none. We've been here awhile now and there are some days this place kinda feels like a prison."

"You could make the argument that this place is exactly like a prison," said Glenn dryly.

Rick's lips quirked at the other man's humour. "I guess you could," he agreed in amusement. His gaze drifted back to the view of Axel still trying to shake off the enraged Daryl. In his hysteria, Axel had now started to zigzag frantically, trying to throw Daryl off. However, in an open field, this technique was less than successful. "See now," tutted Rick, "that ain't no good. You shouldn't panic when you've got a redneck with an axe chasing you down."

"I don't know," mused a philosophical Glenn, "that kinda feels like a perfect time to panic to me."

Rick waved a vague hand at the feuding men. "Yeah, but Axel is covering twice the distance Daryl is. It ain't smart."

Glenn sent him a pointed sideways look for that comment. "We're still talking about Axel, right?"

Rick grimaced. "Okay, yeah, I see your point but even Axel has to realise he's gonna wear himself out quicker that way. There is no way he can keep that pace up."

Glenn eyed the spectacle in front of him. "Axel seems pretty motivated to me."

Rick took in the giant strides Axel was taking and the look of abject terror on his moustachioed face. "That he does," he agreed. "How you think Oscar and Axel are fittin' in overall?" Rick tried not to second guess his decision to keep the two prisoners around, but it was hard. Everyone in the group was precious to him now, and Rick would do anything to protect them. New people always meant he was opening the group up to as much potential threat as help.

"Not counting the Road Runner and Coyote show we're watching now?" asked Glenn.

"Yeah, not countin' that."

Glenn shrugged. "They're both good workers. Oscar's no fool and I think we can rely on him and Axel... well, he's Axel."

"That he is," agreed Rick in resignation.

Just then Axel must have noticed Rick and Glenn sitting there, because he abruptly swerved around and made a beeline for them. "Sanctuary!" he yelled out at the two men. "Sanctuary! Daryl's tryin' ta kill me!"

"That's a big word for him to know," said Glenn with mild admiration.

"I got a feelin' he's had to use it a lot in his life," said Rick dryly.

Axel ran up to them, wide-eyed and panic stricken. "Don't let Daryl kill me," he panted, barely able to talk.

"Then keep movin'," Rick advised him. He could see Daryl had slowed down the chase and was now walking swiftly their way but the guy still didn't look happy. Rick supposed he was going to have to find out what had happened at some point, but he wasn't particularly inclined to right now. It was too hot to play peacekeeper. Axel didn't need to be told twice as he scampered off back into the prison, throwing a couple of nervous looks over at Daryl, to make sure the other man hadn't decided to resume the chase.

"What do you think all that was about?" asked Glenn curiously.

Rick moved his shoulders restlessly. "I guess we're all family now and family always has their moments. They'll work it out."

Daryl had reached them now, his expression dark as thunder, looking like he'd given up on killing Axel. For the moment. Daryl stalked past them, his anger obvious in the way his body was tightly coiled, a streak of blood coming from what looked like a busted lip. "You put the machete through the wrong prisoner's head," he growled darkly at Rick, not breaking his stride, as he passed them both by.

"Yup," said Glenn, straight-faced, "just one big happy family."

"Yeah," Rick sighed, "the Addams family."

"I was thinking more the Manson family, but okay," said Glenn easily.

Rick grimaced but couldn't argue.

**A/N****: As a by the by and in the interest of full disclosure, the story Axel told about being shot by a turkey really did happen to some hunters in America. The guy nearly lost his leg and was in hospital for much longer than Axel. I know right, truth really is stranger than fiction. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N****: Finally got this last little bit done. :D **

**Thanks for checking out the last chapter. There is more in this chapter but I found myself going a little more deeply towards the end. I think ultimately that's not a bad thing as a prequel for the more serious 'Echoes'. I've peppered in some of the ideas I have gone on and explored in the sequel. **

**I just caught the comic con Season 4 preview trailer and have to say it looks awesome! I love that they're going back to the undead being a bigger threat and there seems to be a lot going on. I think it was a good idea to add more people to the canvas, even though I was initially side-eyeing it. I loved our little group and they'll always be my faves but it was getting too small and you needed get away from the insular take we were getting on them. I think Rick's revelation that we can't get by without people at the end of S3 and having him take in the new people was very indicative of the same wall the show itself had backed itself up against. S4 looks to be very promising and I saw a lot of Carol, front and centre and sharing scenes with Daryl and Rick which I'm pretty happy about. :D **

**So much so it makes me want to write another TWD fic... but I don't have a solid idea of a story. Maybe a one shot here or there but I usually don't prefer one shots. I like to settle into a world and move around a bit. Oh well, we'll see. **

**Anyways, here is the last part of this little prequel. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading, as always. **

**Chapter Two**

Rick ran to catch up with the woman in front of him. "Carol, wait," he called out to her.

Carol stopped and turned around. She smiled. "Hey Rick, what's up?"

Rick took her elbow and led her into the shade of the guard tower and out of the heat of the Georgian midday sun. "Can I have a quick word with you?"

"Of course."

Rick glanced over at the cellblock and then back at her. "Should I be worried 'bout this thing between Daryl and Axel?" he asked seriously.

Carol wrinkled her nose. "I don't think so."

"Daryl was chasing the guy down with an axe yesterday," Rick pointed out.

"Well, Axel had just accidentally nearly shot me with Daryl's crossbow and then he banged Daryl in the face with the thing."

Rick closed his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"I think between that and the kitchen incident, Daryl was just on edge."

"The kitchen incident?" Rick quizzed her.

Carol sighed. "It really was an accident."

**oooOOOOooo**

_Carol looked up as Axel walked into the room. "Dinner's not ready yet," she cautioned him. "I've only just started." _

"_That's okay," said Axel, "can I help?" _

_Carol shook her head. "No, I'm under control, thanks." She poured some oil into a fry pan. _

_Axel wasn't to be put off. "I'll light the burner for you," he said, always eager to help. _

_Carol went to tell him there was no need but Axel was already grabbing the matches and turning on the gas on their little camping gas burner. The blue flame flickered into life and Axel reached for the fry pan. "Here." He went to take the fry pan off Carol and put it onto the flame but instead he caused the oil to slop over the sides and splash onto Carol's t-shirt. Axel pulled a face and quickly went to make amends. "Sorry," he said hastily, shoving the fry pan onto the lit gas plate and then grabbing up a cloth to wipe down Carol. In his haste, Axel managed to drag the cloth across the flame on the burner and before Carol could react, he was pressing the lit rag to her chest. The oil caught fire and suddenly Carol's shirt was alight. She barely had time to gasp in a shocked breath when Axel was immediately beating at the small fire to put out the flames. They extinguished just as quickly as they'd started and Carol was still in a state of shock as Axel continued slapping at her chest. "It's okay, it's out," said Axel quickly. "No harm done." _

_Carol realised she hadn't been burnt, thanks to Axel's quick hands but it was still an odd feeling to be on fire like that. _

_Just then Daryl chose to walk into the room. Axel froze in place, his hands unwittingly ending up on Carol's breasts. _

"_What. The. Hell?" bit out Daryl, his expression darkening menacingly as he took in Axel's hands resting on Carol's breasts. _

_Axel seemed incapable of movement, like a deer caught in headlights. "They were on fire," he said hastily, eyes wide. _

"_Get your hands off her," Daryl ground out through gritted teeth. _

_Axel looked back at his hands and seemed surprised to see they were on Carol's breasts. He jerked his hands away as though her breasts were still on fire. _

_Carol could see Daryl was struggling to know how to react to this situation. "They really were on fire," she told him, hoping to defuse some tension with an explanation. _

_Daryl looked was one of confused scepticism. "Why were your, ah, your, um-" he appeared to be having trouble with the word so Daryl skipped it. "Why were you on fire, Carol?"_

_Axel hastily spoke up. "It was an accident." _

"_How do you accidentally set a woman alight?" snapped Daryl. _

_Axel gave a nervous little laugh. "It's kinda a funny story really." He then saw the way Daryl was glowering at him. "But maybe you had to be there," finished off Axel, looking uncomfortable. _

"_The important thing is I'm fine," said Carol cheerfully. "No harm done." _

_Daryl's jaw hardened. "No, the important thing is that dumbass here set you on fire in the first place, Carol," he snapped._

"_I mentioned it was an accident, right?" asked Axel meekly. _

_Daryl looked anything but appeased. "Go… away." He ground out each word with particular menace. _

_Carol gave an encouraging smile to Axel. "Maybe you should go, Axel. I can handle the rest of the preparation for dinner by myself." _

"_You sure?" _

"_You deaf as well as dumb?" snapped Daryl, glaring death at the other man._

_Axel backed up, hands up in front of himself in an expression of appeasement. "Sure thing, only tryin' to help." He edged past a glowering Daryl. Once he was a safe distance from Daryl and close enough to the door, Axel seemed to relax a little, a bright smile back on his lips. "Not for nuthin', Carol," he said, eyeing her breasts appreciatively, "but you got yourself a nice perky pair there." _

_Daryl made an aggressive movement towards the man who didn't know when to stop talking. Axel scampered out of the room as though the devil himself was on his tail and by the look on Daryl's face, he may has well been. Carol put her hand to her mouth to hide a smile. She sensed Daryl wasn't in a laughing mood. He never seemed to be when it came to Axel. _

_Daryl turned back to her, his expression dark. "Is it true what dumbass said?" _

_Carol managed to keep a straight face… just. "Yes, it's true, I do have fantastically firm breasts."_

_Daryl's face flushed beet red and Carol always found it beyond amusing how easy this rough-looking redneck was to tease. "I meant about bein' on fire," he said tersely. _

"_Oh," said Carol with feigned innocence, "that. Yes, that's true too." _

_Daryl made a low growling noise. "What the hell is wrong with that idiot?" _

_Carol gave a little shrug. "Axel is kind of like a puppy. He can't help himself. Accidents seem to love him." _

"_If he was the one gettin' hurt, I wouldn't give a crap," growled Daryl. _

"_You hungry? Dinner's not far away." Carol re-lit the burner, this time with no incidence. The oil began to heat. _

"_Don't change the subject," he grumbled. _

"_Axel is a part of our group," said Carol simply. "There isn't too much else to talk about. We all just got to learn to get along." _

_Daryl didn't look convinced. "Then Axel better learn how to stop bein' a dumbass," he said tersely. _

_Carol wrinkled her nose, wondering if such a thing was even possible. _

**oooOOOOooo**

"Axel set your breasts on fire?" repeated Rick slowly, clearly struggling with the concept. "I don't even know what to say to somethin' like that."

"They were more singed then on fire," Carol clarified.

"Now I'm startin' to worry 'bout the man around you." Rick made a pained expression. "Carol, be honest with me, you worried 'bout havin' Axel round?"

"No," she said honestly, "I'm not." Carol grimaced. "Although I don't think he's great for Daryl's stress levels. He seems to take every little accidents of Axel's pretty personally."

"That's because they seem to keep on involving you," pointed out Rick.

Carol felt a little blush heat her cheeks but ignored it. "We're all real invested in keeping each other safe. Axel is going to find his place in the group, just like we all have. He just needs some time."

"I guess," said Rick slowly. "Just do me a favour and try not to spend too much time around the guy, okay? He's no good for you."

Carol's lips twitched. "Yes, Dad."

Rick had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "You know what I mean."

"I do," said Carol evenly, "but honestly, we've all got bigger problems to worry 'bout then Axel."

"I would have said the same thing until I heard about the crossbow and fire story." Rick rolled his eyes. "The guy's a one man apocalypse."

Carol laughed. "He means well."

"I don't reckon I'd feel any better dyin' at the hands of someone who means well anymore than someone who was intendin' to do me harm," said Rick laconically. "Dead is dead."

"Except when it's not," Carol countered. "It's a new world, Rick and there aren't many of us left. We got to make room for all sorts. It's just how things are now. Axel will find his feet. It'll be fine."

"I hope so," said Rick sincerely, "but you tell me if there are any more close calls."

"There won't be," said a confident Carol.

Rick half-smiled. "Well now," he drawled, "that sounds like famous last words if ever I heard them." His face became more serious as he placed a concerned hand on Carol's arm. "You just take care to look after yourself, Carol. I ain't gonna lose another mother."

Carol blinked back sudden tears at hearing herself called that. She forced a wobbly smile. "I'm gonna be fine, Rick," she said shakily. "Turns out I'm a survivor." Carol gave a lift of her shoulders. "Who'd have thought it?"

"I guess we're all surprisin' ourselves these days," said Rick sombrely. "What we are capable of, what we can endure."

Carol covered Rick's hand with her own. "You know, anytime you want to talk 'bout Lori or anythin', I'm right here. You know that, right?"

Rick looked away briefly and then back at her, eyes suspiciously bright. "I can't," he choked out, "cause if I start-"

"You're worried you won't be able to stop," Carol finished for him, knowing the pain of a grief which threatened to consume you utterly. "I understand." Her expression was sincere. "But one day, Rick, you're gonna wake up and you're gonna need to talk and when that day comes, I'm here if you need me."

Rick nodded and managed a smile. "Thanks." His eyes flicked past Carol and she twisted around to see Daryl approaching, crossbow strap slung across his chest. Rick's attention was back on Carol. "You just remember what I said."

Carol smiled. "I will."

Daryl was caught up with them now, coming to stand by Carol. The two men exchanged short nods of the head and then Rick was heading out.

Daryl's look was intent. "You okay?"

Carol quickly blinked back her threatening tears. "I'm fine."

He frowned. "You don't look fine."

Rick's unexpected comments about her still being a mother had caught Carol off-guard. She knew he was being sincere and sweet but it was like the pain from bumping a wound unexpectedly, it kind of took your breath away. Sophia's loss was a wound Carol carried with her every moment of every day and even wanting to have that wound heal up felt like a betrayal of the little girl's memory. But none of that was Daryl's fault or his look out to fix. Some things were always going to be broken. Carol made sure her smile was warm for Daryl. "Flatterer," she teased him, hoping to lighten the mood.

"You know what I mean," Daryl grunted, looking away.

"I do." Carol nudged him with her shoulder. "Lucky for you, I speak Daryl Dixon."

Daryl looked back at her and gave a little snort of half derision and amusement for that comment.

**oooOOOOooo**

Rick walked out onto the platform above the area they ate at and looked down at Daryl from the top of the short staircase. "You ready? We're movin' out in a few."

Daryl looked up from where he was sitting at the table and doing a last check of his crossbow, gun and rifle. They were going to do a scouting mission along the south entrance where more Walkers than usual were turning up at the prison fence line. Maybe there was something attracting them and maybe they could do something about it. Daryl gave a short nod of his head. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Good."

"Rick." Daryl stalled the other man as he went to leave.

"Yeah?"

Daryl opened his mouth and then closed it again, trying to think how to word this right. This morning when he'd talked to Carol, she'd been upset after talking to Rick. She'd said she wasn't, but Daryl knew better. It was niggling away at him and he wanted to know what was going on with her. He didn't like seeing those tears in her eyes which she'd tried to hide from him. If it really was nothing as Carol had claimed, then she would have told him. That thought made Daryl worried, a nervous tug in the pit of his stomach and he needed to know what was going on. The thing was, he didn't exactly know how to ask because Daryl didn't know what he'd interrupted between the two.

Rick arched an eyebrow, his look expectant. "What is it?"

Daryl moved a little in his seat, going back to his weapons. "Ah, this mornin'-". He cleared his throat, annoyed with himself for being so pansy assed about the whole thing. Daryl sent a quick glance up at Rick. "You and Carol were talkin'."

Rick leaned one hip against the top rail of the metal staircase and looked confused. "I know." He tilted his head to one side. "Somethin' you want to ask me, Daryl?"

Daryl scowled up at the other man. "Everythin' okay?"

Rick pushed himself away from the railing and walked down the stairs, curious gaze intent on Daryl. "You tell me."

Daryl's scowl deepened. "What do ya mean?"

Rick stopped at the bottom of the steps. "You and Axel."

Daryl was taken aback, not having expected that. "What about us?"

"Carol told me what happened with you two and him hittin' you with your crossbow and those two incidents with her."

Daryl's jaw hardened in immediate irritation. "They weren't incidents," he snapped. "The dumbass nearly shot Carol after havin' already set her on fire." Daryl still felt the hairs lift on the back of his neck remembering watching that bolt hurtle towards Carol. For a split second Daryl had thought he was going to watch Carol die and be completely unable to do a damn thing about it. The notion still churned his stomach. As for the fire thing, seeing Axel with his hands all over Carol caused an entirely different kind of stomach churning, one Daryl didn't want to think about right then.

Rick grimaced. "She got lucky."

"No," Daryl bit out, "she got unlucky for being near that piece of shit for brains."

"Carol ain't worried," pointed out Rick mildly.

"Carol's too kind for her own good," threw back Daryl in annoyance. "She'd take in any stray, thinkin' they just need a second chance when what they really need is a bullet."

Rick's pursed his lips. "Aha," he drawled.

Daryl didn't like how knowing that agreement was, as though Rick had just figured out something Daryl wasn't privy to. He glared at Rick. "What was that?"

Rick just half-smiled. "Nuthin'."

Daryl knew it wasn't nothing by that damn smug smile on Rick's face.

Rick moved his shoulders a little under Daryl's unrelenting stare, looking away and his smile widening a little. "I was just thinkin' maybe you got a problem with there bein' a new stray in town."

Daryl's eyes narrowed menacingly, working out Rick's angle then. Rick thought Daryl had a problem with Carol giving someone on the fringe of life her consideration when he was used to being the centre of her attention. "You think I'm some kind of stray dog?" growled Daryl, a muscle ticking in his cheek.

"No," said Rick quietly, "I don't, but I reckon you do most days."

Daryl blinked, surprised by Rick's insight.

Rick's look was suddenly kind. "Daryl, you gotta know, when it comes to you, everyone knows you're Carol's favourite."

Daryl felt his face heat and cursed his adolescent tendencies. He looked away, not knowing what to say to something like that. It caused a cascade of emotions Daryl didn't have the first idea what to do with. "I ain't jealous," he muttered, "I'm worried that dumbass is gonna kill us all what with him walkin' round, bein' a dumbass every five seconds."

"I know," Rick sighed, "and I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't have my concerns about the guy but it is what it is. As long as the others aren't worried about havin' him about, we can sure use the manpower."

Daryl couldn't argue with that, although he wished he could. He looked back at Rick. "If he hurts any of us, I'm gonna put an arrow between his eyes," said Daryl, eyes hard with steely determination. "I ain't in the business of handin' out second chances."

Rick grimaced. "See now, that's the thing, Daryl, this life now, it's all 'bout second chances and third and fourths. It's the world we live in now and I don't reckon there is much either one of us can do about it." Rick's expression became more unrelenting. "But that don't change the fact I'd do anythin' to protect our people from harm, whatever it takes."

The two men looked at each other, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Daryl still wasn't exactly sure what had upset Carol earlier and that bothered him, but he did know that no matter what, he wasn't the only one looking to take care of everyone. That being said though, keeping an eye on Carol still felt like more of Daryl's job than anyone else's. After all, she was the one who'd refused to give up on him when he'd worked so hard to push everyone away after Sophia's death. He owed her and it was a debt Daryl didn't think twice about repaying...


End file.
